Arkansas Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Arkansas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Do the rules for license plates (Chapter 14, Subchapter 7) also apply to the temporary paper buyer's tags dealers issue to new car buyers, including the 100-foot visibility rule and the no-cover rule?
No. The display requirements for temporary preprinted buyer's tags are independent of license plate rules. Some requirements overlap, others don't. The license plate visibility rule (100 feet) does…
Who enforces the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code in a fire district when wind turbines are being built, the State Fire Marshal, the city, or the local fire department, and can the city add stricter rules and charge inspection fees?
The State Fire Marshal enforces the AFPC by default. Local jurisdictions can establish a building department with a building official to enforce Volume 2 (buildings and structures), can adopt more…
Does the Arkansas Attorney General have authority to review and approve an interlocal agreement between a city and a county that only divides funding for district court operations?
No. The AG concluded he lacks authority to review the Pope County / Russellville agreement under either the Interlocal Cooperation Act or the county-interlocal-agreement statute. The Cooperation Act…
If a public employee's name, salary, hire date, and job title are requested under the Arkansas FOIA, can the agency release them?
Yes. The AG concludes that releasing nonelected public employees' compensation information (name, hire date, base salary, bonus, overtime, gross wages, and position title) is consistent with the…
Can an Arkansas city pass an ordinance that limits how much a landlord can charge for rental application fees and background checks?
No. AG Tim Griffin opines that Fayetteville's Ordinance 6800 (capping rental application fees at $20 and background check fees at $40) likely violates A.C.A. § 14-43-608, which broadly prohibits…
If the state takes my home through eminent domain and I have to buy a new one, can my Amendment 79 senior property tax cap follow me to the new house at the old assessed value?
The new home is capped under Amendment 79 at its assessed value on the purchase date, or a later lower value. The former home's assessment cannot carry over, even after a forced sale. The AG said…
Can the Arkansas Attorney General review a school district's decision to release records about a job applicant who is not employed by the district?
No. The AG declined to review the release decision because § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) covers personnel and employee-evaluation records, and the applicant was not employed by the school district. The AG…
What can the Arkansas Department of Corrections redact from a current employee's personnel file in response to a FOIA request, and are commendation letters from supervisors public?
The AG found four errors in the planned release: missed redactions of some personal details, improper redaction of references' names and contact information, planned release of exempt college…
When a city releases the personnel files of two former police officers, what can it redact and what must come out?
For these former police employees' files, the AG approved redacting personal identifiers, but rejected redactions of references' names and contact details, time-off records, and change-in-benefits…
Are the application materials and interview scoresheets for candidates in a public school superintendent search subject to public release?
Mostly. The successful applicant's Candidate Input Forms are personnel records and must be released without redactions. Internal applicants who already work for the district have their Candidate…
When can a city release records about a fired police officer, including the termination letter and the internal affairs report on the officer's misconduct?
Most of them can come out. The AG concludes Fayetteville's decision to release the termination letter and the OSP investigative memorandum on the former officer is consistent with the FOIA, because…
Once I sign up to be an organ donor, can my family override my decision after I die? And can a hospital or organ bank that follows my donor card be sued by my family?
If you signed up as an organ donor, no one else can revoke your gift, before or after your death, unless you provided express contrary indication. Your gift is yours alone to revoke. And anyone who…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the revised Fort Smith / Sebastian County interlocal agreement to consolidate 911 dispatch operations after the parties added the missing property-disposal language?
Yes. The AG approved the revised interlocal agreement under A.C.A. § 25-20-104. The only change from the version rejected in Opinion 2024-085 was a single sentence added to Section 8 specifying…
Can the Arkansas legislature change a constitutional amendment that voters passed by initiative, or do voters have to approve any change?
AG Tim Griffin reads Amendment 7 literally and says yes: a 2/3 vote in each house can amend an initiated constitutional amendment without going back to the voters. The 1951 Arkansas Supreme Court…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Fort Smith / Sebastian County interlocal agreement to combine 911 dispatch operations?
The AG refused to approve the proposed Fort Smith and Sebastian County interlocal agreement because it did not say how property would be disposed of if the agreement ended in whole or in part.…
If I bought a car from a dealer and have a paper temporary buyer's tag, do I still have to register the vehicle with the state, or does the temp tag let me skip registration?
Yes. The AG said a vehicle with a temporary preprinted buyer's tag must still be registered within 60 days of transfer to a new owner, unless it falls within a registration exemption. The tag…
Can an Arkansas city use bonds, general funds, or rent to build housing for low- and moderate-income families?
Yes. The AG concluded that Article 12 § 5 of the Arkansas Constitution does not prevent Fayetteville (or any Arkansas city) from using voter-approved bonds, current city sales-tax revenue, or rental…
Can Arkansas police use automatic license plate readers, electronic tickets, or roadblocks to find uninsured drivers?
Yes, but with conditions. Arkansas allows ALPRs only for narrow statutory purposes (A.C.A. § 12-12-1803), allows electronic tickets, and lets officers stop a vehicle only on probable cause to…
Did the Arkansas AG approve Little Rock's interlocal agreement to join the Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX)?
No. AG Tim Griffin declined to approve the agreement because it did not specify how to establish and maintain a budget for the joint undertaking, as A.C.A. § 25-20-104(c)(4) requires. Without that…
Can the Arkansas AG review a FOIA decision to release a job application from someone who was never hired?
No. AG Tim Griffin's review power under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) is limited to personnel records and employee-evaluation or job-performance records. Application materials of someone who was…
Should a sheriff's office release the disciplinary file and resignation letter of a deputy who resigned in lieu of termination?
The AG found the sheriff's withholding decision inconsistent with FOIA on the facts presented. He treated the forced resignation as a constructive termination, inferred finality if no appeal was…
Can the Arkansas Crime Victims Reparations Board pay benefits to a claimant who has a prior felony conviction for criminally injurious conduct?
No. AG Tim Griffin read A.C.A. § 16-90-712(a)(5) and (a)(6) as two separate prohibitions: subsection (a)(5) categorically bars reparations to anyone with a felony conviction involving criminally…
Where can an Arkansan stand their ground without retreating before using force in self-defense?
Anywhere you are lawfully present. The 2024 AG opinion explains that the Stand-Your-Ground Act applies wherever a self-defender is legally allowed to be, with one exception: a person committing the…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the ballot title for the 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2026'?
Yes. AG Tim Griffin certified the popular name 'The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2026' as submitted and substituted and certified the ballot title with two formatting changes. He…
Can a member of an Arkansas nonprofit corporation give a proxy that directs how their vote should be cast on specific issues?
Yes by default. The 2024 AG opinion concluded that A.C.A. § 4-33-724 allows a nonprofit member to appoint a proxy with express limitations on the proxy's voting authority, which is what a 'directed…
Can an Arkansas city order a homeowner to connect to the city sewer when their property is more than 300 feet from the line?
No. The 2024 AG opinion concluded a city cannot lawfully require a homeowner to connect to the city sewer when the property is more than 300 feet from a current sewer line. State law (A.C.A. §…
Can the Arkansas AG certify a popular name and ballot title for an initiative petition without the sponsor submitting the full text?
No. AG Tim Griffin returned the AR Kids submission for the 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2026' because the sponsor did not include the full text of the amendment as A.C.A. §…
Did the Arkansas AG approve a ballot measure to allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly, or risk to the mother's life or physical health?
No. The Attorney General rejected the proposed ballot title for the Arkansas Abortion Amendment. The defect was technical but fatal: the definition of 'physical health' described it as the presence…
Does an Arkansas school district have to declare land 'unused or underutilized' before donating or selling it?
Not necessarily. Land need not be classified as unused or underutilized for every transfer. For a sale or lease, the district may instead find it no longer needed for school purposes. Property that…
Do Arkansas private schools have to follow open-records and open-meetings laws if they accept LEARNS Act voucher money?
No. Receiving Education Freedom Account funds under the LEARNS Act is not by itself enough to make a private school subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Two things must be true: the…
Can the Arkansas State Police release a state trooper's personnel and internal-affairs file in response to a FOIA request?
Mostly yes. Routine personnel records like hire dates, transfer forms, and pay records are releasable with privacy redactions. Disciplinary suspension letters, internal-affairs files, and the…
Can a public employee block release of her middle name from a personnel record under Arkansas FOIA?
No. Under Arkansas FOIA, the subject of a personnel record cannot block release of her middle name simply because she does not want it shared. The privacy test is objective. The employee's…
Do voters in Arkansas city-manager cities still have to approve compensation for the board of directors before the board can set its own salaries?
Yes. The two Arkansas statutes can be read in harmony. Section 14-61-110 (1989) requires voter authorization before city directors and mayors can be paid. Section 14-47-114(a) (1991) lets the board…
How does the Arkansas AG decide whether a school district properly released personnel records under FOIA when the requester challenges the redactions?
The Attorney General cannot review whether a custodian's release was consistent with FOIA when the requester provides no copies of the released records. Without records, the AG can only state the…
Does an Arkansas sheriff's office have to keep evidence collected during a felony investigation even if it has no evidentiary value, or can a court order it released early?
Yes, the sheriff has to hold those items for the full statutory period. Section 13-4-409 sets minimum retention periods based on the type of crime: 2 years after final judgment for general felonies…
Do part-time police officers in Arkansas cities get the 15-day annual vacation that the statute requires for police department employees?
Yes. Section 14-52-106(a)(1) requires the head of each police department to grant 'each employee' at least 15 working days of annual vacation with full pay. The statute does not say full-time only.…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the popular name and ballot title for a constitutional amendment to make government transparency a citizen's right?
The AG substituted and certified a popular name and ballot title for a proposed government-transparency amendment. The certified title says conflicting constitutional provisions, statutes, and…
Did the Arkansas AG approve a ballot measure to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from state sales and use tax?
The AG certified the proposed popular name and a substituted ballot title for a tax exemption on feminine hygiene products and diapers. He identified wording, grammar, and numbering issues in the…
Can an Arkansas school district stop a student athlete from playing varsity sports just because the student transferred between schools within the same district?
No. Act 768 of 2023 applies equally to interdistrict and intradistrict transfers. The statute protects students 'who transfer[] to another public school or a nonresident school district.' Reading…
Can an Arkansas county sue a federally recognized tribe (or a tribal-owned LLC) to enforce a contract if the contract does not include a waiver of tribal sovereign immunity?
Maybe. Indian tribes (and tribal entities that act as 'arms of the tribe,' including some tribally-owned LLCs) enjoy sovereign immunity from suit unless Congress has expressly abrogated immunity or…
If an organization's salaried employee collects ballot-petition signatures as part of their job, does Arkansas law treat them as a 'paid canvasser' subject to the registration and background-check rules?
Yes. An employee who solicits petition signatures as part of their job duties is paid 'in exchange for' soliciting signatures, even if their salary stays the same regardless. They are a 'paid…
Can an Arkansas city require local candidates to file an extra campaign-finance report before early voting starts, on top of the state-required reports?
Yes. The proposed Bella Vista ordinance, which requires municipal candidates to file a Campaign Contribution and Expense report at least seven days before early voting begins (in addition to…
Can my former law-enforcement employer release my personnel file, internal-affairs investigation, and discipline records under FOIA over my objection?
Mostly yes. Administrative records like hire date, transfers, payroll forms, and acknowledgments are releasable as personnel records, with standard redactions for SSN, DOB, contact info, and the…
Can someone who signed an Arkansas initiative petition take their signature back later?
The AG says a signer likely has a common-law right to withdraw before a statewide initiative petition is filed, or before an applicable filing period expires. He found no clear Arkansas procedure…
Can an Arkansas circuit clerk force a title insurance agency to use a third-party online portal (and pay a fee) to access real-property records, instead of obtaining them directly from the courthouse?
No for in-office access, but yes if the agency wants the convenience of an online portal. Section 23-103-417 requires city, county, and state offices to allow title insurance agencies free in-person…
Was a school district right to withhold teacher personnel files and investigation records under Arkansas FOIA when the suspensions were never appealed to the school board?
The AG could not determine whether the school district correctly classified or withheld the requested records because he had not been given them. He explained that a missing school-board ruling…
Does the Arkansas DOC Secretary still have authority to issue a certificate of expungement for someone sentenced under the Alternative Service Act, even though the act was repealed in 1993?
Yes. Even though the Alternative Service Act was repealed in 1993, individuals who were sentenced under it remain eligible for expungement under the version in effect when they were sentenced. The…
Can an Arkansas bail bondsman or bail-bond company finance the premium for a defendant's bail bond, or own a piece of a company that does?
Bail bondsmen and bail-bond companies cannot finance premiums themselves, because that would violate prohibitions on giving anything of value to the principal and accepting anything of value beyond…
Can a current Arkansas city alderman keep drawing a retirement benefit earned as a former mayor while also being paid as alderman?
Yes. Arkansas Code § 21-5-107 only restricts compensation for someone simultaneously holding more than one office. A former mayor who now holds only one office (alderman) can take the alderman pay…
Can central Arkansas cities, Pulaski County, and area water utilities renew their joint GIS interlocal agreement under Arkansas's Interlocal Cooperation Act?
Yes. The Attorney General approved the Sixth Restatement and Amendment of the Pulaski Area Geographic Information System interlocal agreement, finding that it satisfies the Interlocal Cooperation…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Craighead and Poinsett counties' renewed interlocal library agreement, and what has to change for it to be approved?
Disapproved. The proposed interlocal agreement for Crowley's Ridge regional library services failed to name an administrator or joint board, omitted the legal status and powers of the regional…
Under Arkansas FOIA, what can a sheriff's office redact from a deputy's personnel file in response to a public records request?
Personal contact info, SSN, employee number, marital status, and dependent information were properly redacted. Emergency contact information, FMLA change-of-status dates, and beneficiary…
Did Act 633 of 2023 apply to the Pine Bluff School District's 2023 return to local control, and what authority does the State Board have over the schedule for replacing appointed school board members with elected ones?
Act 633 of 2023 does not govern the State Board’s earlier assumption of authority over Pine Bluff. The AG said the law and supplied facts did not let him decide whether the State Board could approve…
Does Arkansas's 2023 law shielding medical marijuana patients from automatic concealed-carry denial conflict with federal firearm law, and what does it actually change for applicants?
The AG found Act 757 consistent with federal law. State Police may not consider a person's qualifying-patient or caregiver status in the specified concealed-carry eligibility decision, but must…
After the Supreme Court's Tyler v. Hennepin decision, does Arkansas's tax-foreclosure surplus law violate the Takings Clause, and what should former owners do to recover surplus proceeds?
Arkansas's general tax sale process is likely constitutional under Tyler because former owners have two years to apply for surplus proceeds. The exception is donation deeds: if the Commissioner of…
Does the Arkansas Constitution require the state alone to pay state district court judges' salaries, or can cities and counties be required to chip in?
The state is not constitutionally required to be the sole payer of state district court judges' salaries. Amendment 80 is silent on funding, and Amendment 94 requires payment from the Constitutional…
Can a Bentonville School District donate nine acres of land for affordable teacher housing and a community center, and what triggers a charter school's right of first refusal?
A school district can donate real property under A.C.A. § 6-21-108 if the property is not required for present or future needs and the donation serves a beneficial educational purpose. Adjacent…
Does an Arkansas mayor have law-enforcement powers like a sheriff, and can a county sheriff still operate inside a first-class city's limits?
An Arkansas mayor of a city of the first class is a conservator of the peace with authority equal to a sheriff inside city limits to suppress disorder, keep the peace, make arrests with probable…
Do Arkansas gift cards have a 2-year minimum expiration, or does federal law require 5 years, and can a club just zero out unused member credit at year-end?
For covered gift cards and credits, the federal CARD Act’s five-year minimum displaces Arkansas’s two-year minimum. A member credit outside the Act’s definitions or within one of its five exclusions…
After the LEARNS Act repealed the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, can Little Rock teachers still get a hearing when their contracts are not renewed?
The LEARNS Act removed the former statutory notice and hearing rights for nonrenewal. The AG says a nonrenewal is almost certainly a grievance under the surviving grievance law, so an employee who…
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Attorney general opinions in Arkansas are written by the Arkansas Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.